“Any time you have talented people they are going to get offers. That is part of being a football coach. Rutgers is a destination. Rutgers is a place people want to be, so I don’t concern myself with that.”

“I don’t anticipate anything. By that, I don’t mean zero (changes). I know the coaches that are here right now are working toward landing what we feel like will be an excellent recruiting class.”

On the future of the Big East and national conference landscape:

“We don’t pay attention to it as assistant coaches. As we go through the season, we’re worried about the next opponent. Now, as head coach, my focus is on the team and the players and the people in this program. I’m going to leave all the conference realignment and scheduling (alone). That’s better suited for Tim Pernetti than it is for me.”

On not backing down from pressure and expectations:

“We expect a lot from our players – we expect a lot in the classroom, we expect a lot in the way they carry themselves off the field, we expect a lot in the weight room and we expect a lot on the practice field. If we’re going to have those kind of high expectations, then they should expect to win championships. And that is the goal of the program – to win championships.”

On his reaction to FIU coach Mario Cristobal being offered the job first:

“Most of my day yesterday was spent recruiting. I wasn’t following anything to see what was going on. Our job right now as football coaches getting close to that signing date is about recruiting and continuing to build our relationships.”

On stepping out of Greg Schiano’s shadow:

“I’m not worried about my blazing my won path. The things that are good, we want to keep them good. As we evaluate things, if we think there is a chance to get better, we want to get better.”

On his relationships with New Jersey high school football coaches:

“Every high school coach in the State of Rutgers is important to us. What I’ve been fortunate enough to do through my career at different places is recruit the same geographic area for a little over 15 years now. I think, when you do that, you find that the coaches that stay, even if they’re not at the same high school, you still have a relationship with.”

On his plans for the offense:

“I could actually speak to all three phases. The vision of the Rutgers football program ‑‑ the offense, the defense, and the special teams ‑‑ you saw that this year. That is not going to change.”